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This review is featured by American Advisors Group (AAG)
Thomas of Thomasville, NC Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Jan. 5, 2023
I checked a few online reviews and Better Business reviews, and American Advisors seemed like they were rated very favorably. The person that contacted me was very helpful in answering any of my questions that I had and went into details about what the process was and explained the whole thing to me satisfactorily, so it made sense to try to do it.
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This review is featured by American Advisors Group (AAG)
Glenn of Lecanto, FL Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Dec. 10, 2022
I spoke with a rep and his speech was phenomenal over the telephone. I never had to say, "What or huh? Can you do that again?" He was the best person I've ever spoken to about things. He was loud, clear, and very understandable. I've got his cellphone number so I can text him. He always gets back to me within 24 hours. I'm just tickled to death with AAG.
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This review is featured by American Advisors Group (AAG)
Sandra of Science Hill, KY Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Dec. 2, 2022
Getting a reverse mortgage from AAG would work out great for me since I am a senior citizen and can't work. So far, so good with their getting in touch with me and getting the ball rolling. They weren't really demanding about things and paperwork. As far as paperwork goes, I needed proof of homeowner's insurance and a copy of my driver's license. I've only asked a few questions, and they've answered to my satisfaction. My representative is very understanding, and she's willing to try to help me. Overall, AAG is very understanding and they want to be helpful. They like to learn about people.
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Tanya of Deland, FL Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Feb. 19, 2023
The first time that we used AAG for a reverse mortgage was also for my uncle on his other home. He did the market research himself and selected AAG and then asked me to start the paperwork process. The paperwork with AAG is much more extensive than any other mortgage. But there's a lot of information. I like that they use DocuSign because that helps the process go faster. Locating all the required documents took a long time. Nowadays, a lot of people don't get all these documents in the mail every month like we used to. You have to log into an account and access a bank statement or a mortgage statement. That was a challenge with my uncle because he was not on the computer due to his disability. Also, he wasn't getting things by paper in the mail.
Tiegs has been our contact. The very first thing she did was explain the benefits. We had already done it once before, so we knew what we needed it for and the benefits of using it. So she didn't need to sell it to me, but she did. She gave me a good list to go by, which was great, because since it was in the email, I could share it with other people in my family that could help me. Then she explained very well a couple of things I had questions about.
Any time I've called her, she called me back or if I emailed her, she emailed me back, but the time difference has been a little bit of a challenge. I'm in Florida and she is somewhere on the West Coast. There's a three-hour time difference. When I am at my computer where I can find the things that she needs or look at her list or any of the information, she's not even out of bed yet. Like yesterday, she called me in what would be her normal business hours, I was home eating dinner and didn't have any of my paperwork with me because I was keeping it in the office where my computer is.
We're in our third week of trying to gather the documents. I submitted them and AAG ordered the appraisal immediately. Then the application had to be signed again. She sent it to me yesterday after I was already gone from the office. So, I'll be doing that this morning. But it came up with a signature that wasn't in the sequence that they needed it to be, so I'll have to re-sign everything. But the time that the process has taken isn't AAG's problem, it has been on our end. Overall, it's been a thorough and good experience.
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Deborah of Richmond, KY Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Dec. 9, 2022
My house is paid off and I have nobody to leave it to. I saw AAG on television regarding reverse mortgages. I figured I would use some of that equity to make some improvements to the house. Suzy was my rep and she has been extremely helpful in explaining things. She sent documents for me to read through. I was a contract negotiator before I retired so I can get past the mundaneness of a contract and how it works. Suzy has been very informative. I know exactly what I'm getting into and I have no qualms about it at this point.
Suzy is extremely upbeat and very available. I called her after reading whatever and then I’d call her for more clarification. She's extremely knowledgeable and has a good attitude. For my situation, she said it was a perfect one, which I already knew because I'd already thought about it. She also explained other alternatives and ways to do it. Suzy was able to put things out there and her comments didn't lean one way or another. I'm still good with the decision that I made initially.
You get a false sense from the communication in the commercials about how the exact process works. I came into it with AAG with a certain set of expectations. My expectation was that I was gonna get 80% of the value of my house but that's not the reality. Even though I was disappointed, I understood what was going on, how they came to that percentage, how they came up with the interest rates, and how the whole process works. If you pay back in and it goes to this and then you get additional funds through this process, you can claim more and you don't get it all at once. I asked why and they said it was because of this and this.
Suzy went into quite a bit of depth about the average person and maybe somebody that wasn't a businesswoman like I was years ago, and that somebody could be scammed. We went through a whole scenario of things. She made it very clear why things are the way they are. I was very satisfied with what she said, even though at the time I was expecting more. I was accepting of the answer that she gave me and I understood it.
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Linda of Chatham Township, NJ Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Oct. 18, 2022
Every time somebody calls me, they have me state my date of birth in full over the phone and I never know exactly who's calling me. They get my last for the Social. But since they're calling me, they already know my loan number, they can just say, "Can you reiterate your loan number," or mortgage number, and I would give that. That's enough because I'm not big on keep giving out my personal information to somebody that I don't know over the phone. I don't do my business online. A year from now, I could start to borrow more money than I got initially, which is great. But what I wanted to do is I need the booklet or information about how to send money into my account. I still don't have that. Because I don't bank online, I'm still waiting for that information. And I'm not going to go online and open up that line of credit account to find out because I'm not going to use that and I don't want my personal information online.
Jamila was great. The HUD representative was fine. That was a phone interview. And there was a supervisor that was above Jamila that I talked to just a few times. The only thing that I would say American Advisors Group could do better, which the contractor said that they've told AAG a thousand times, is that if there's a set aside on a repair, then by all truth, they should tell the people the process of what has to happen.
Because I've done three email sessions for the people in the repair section of the department to prove that I had the repairs done. They said they have 30 days, which they do by law, to have the documents sent to the loaner or the mortgage holder. But by then, I didn't know I had to wait for a form. I didn't know that I had to previously get the person that was a contractor pre-approved. So, after waiting two months to get my house painted, I got it painted, then I got the documents and found out that I should have done all this and that. And I had to call the painter who doesn't know me from Adam, a couple of times to get him to try to come back and fill out a form, which is a legal form about a lien. And he didn't even want to answer my calls after the third time because it's like stalking. I had already paid him, he didn't know why I kept calling him to come out.
How that part of the process works should be in the initial packet of description. AAG is very descriptive. There are 71 pages that came out initially and I took the time to read them, but that's not in there. So, they should add it there about set-asides that's not in there so nothing is a surprise to the person. Because I could have done the work myself. There's a form for that. But that's not how the process works regardless because I still had to get the forms, whoever filled it in, whether it was the contractor that I hired or myself, and send that to AAG in those different formats, and wait for them to send the appraiser to come back out and look the work over.
AAG is very good at all the paperwork that they send out and I got two copies of a lot of things, the 71-page booklet and something else. So, they aren't shy on printing things. So, add all the other things that they didn't add. And when the repair department called me to follow up with me, that wasn't as pleasant as an experience because the form should go out. As soon as you close alone, they should send out those booklets and forms so you know what you're dealing with. It could have been a repair person that came from out of state and there was no way in heaven they would sign a form that is a legal form. Until the third time I spoke to department of repair, I didn't know that the form was designed so the person in contract said they wouldn't sue and put a lien on my home. I thought it was just for me to prove that I did the repair. So, AAG should be more upfront with that.
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Aubria of Chicago, IL Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: June 28, 2022
American Advisors Group took me from the beginning to the counseling service. I enjoyed the conversation with Tyler. He was full of things that I didn't know. He was an excellent teacher and easy to speak with. Listened when I spoke, promptly gave me back the information I was looking for, and was pleasant. I learned a lot of things about a mortgage and a reverse mortgage. The information was prudent to making a decision. And my final decision was I changed my mind. I don't want to do that. So, simply because after speaking with the counselor, I understood, even though I had many conversations with Tyler, there was a reason. I comprehended everything that he said, but it didn't lock in. We had so many conversations. It was coming so quickly.
But even with all the papers that I received, Carol, the counselor, gave me numbers for this and that. I had a moment over the holiday weekend to be quiet and go over everything. And I decided that the interest rate on the monies that I would get at the beginning of the 12-month period for so much money and the closing cost that I could pay at the end whenever I decided to close out the loan or sell my house, the benefits for me didn't outweigh me to just stay where I am.
At this moment, nobody receives what my condo association is talking about very well. So I don't know what's going to come of that, and I'll just have to play it ear by ear to see, but to pay interest on monies I'm borrowing and monies that are owed for a closing costs, and the loan itself at the end of whatever, or I could just not do anything and pay at the release of my home if I decided to sell it, or to be able to say, “Okay. I've got this to take care so I'm not going to pay anything on the AAG loan this month,” the interest is still piling up. And that bothered me because at the end of the day, they could have quite a bit of equity in my house.
I even spoke to somebody that does a bit of work with HUD. And she said, “It's a good program, but I don't know if this is for you. You need to stop and really look at that.” But AAG kept telling me, “Take your time and go over everything. And it's your decision to make.” They did explain it to me. I got a great education. I understand it completely now. I told Tyler that I'm holding on to all of the papers. And if there comes a point where I need this more than I don't, I will call him back again.
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Gwyneth of Prescott Valley, AZ Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: May 17, 2022
When I called AAG, I got a loan officer and I had a lot of questions. Right away, the next day, I received a packet from him that explained exactly what a reverse mortgage is. I’ve talked to him several times, and he has answered all my questions. My daughter had questions to ask and he has been wonderful to help us. Now that I’m in underwriting, there was a lady who called us and she has been wonderful. They’ve been there. They listened to me. They don’t try to just talk business and get off the phone.
The big thing though is on the appraisal on the house. I pretty much know the market value already but the rep had set up for an appraiser to come out. My son wanted to be there when that happens so if the guy has any questions, it’s easier for him to answer for me on my house. And I wouldn’t be comfortable anyway. But we went round and round, because my son works and he was to request time off. There was one reason after another why the appraiser couldn’t come. The dates didn’t work out. We called about five times but they didn't return my calls. Finally, the apparaiser's wife called me and said, “Okay, are we still on for Friday?” And that was Thursday. I said, “No. I’ve been trying to call you, you’re not returning our calls.” And she said, “Well, I didn’t get any message."
I complained to my loan officer and he said he'd talk to the appraiser. He was upset to what they did. He got this second guy right away, who called me Monday, last week. That was another week we had to wait. So, June 1st, they have agreed that my son will be available. He’s gonna take off half a day, and the appraiser is gonna be there. We’ll see how that works out.
Another upsetting thing is it was $600. My loan officer said that they’re totally separate. It was ridiculous, to come and check out the house for 30 minutes. My son was tremendously upset, not at just the first appraiser, but the second appraiser too, because he had put him off too. I asked the second person if I had to pay him again. He said no, that American Advisors Group would. I thought that was extremely overpriced.
3 people found this review helpful
Danny of Carolina Shores, NC Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Feb. 20, 2023
AAG was upfront and very thorough. I gave them some information, they checked it out, and things went like clockwork. The lady I talked with was Eileen. She seemed to be very knowledgeable of the product and the process. She's in California and I'm in North Carolina, but she got back to me very quickly. She was very helpful in helping me make sure I gave them the right information. They sent me some information thru email then put something in the mail that got to me quickly. They made sure I understood how the reverse mortgage was and if it was right for us.
I had done a small refi on my house in April of last year. I took out $26,000. As we went towards the end, they had never asked me about if I refinanced it when they found it out. According to the guidelines, you have to wait at least a year. We're at the point where we're on hold. They've got all the information and I'm approved. We're scheduled to proceed and have a closing date of April 15th.
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Teresa of North Charleston, SC Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Feb. 19, 2023
The rep I work with at AAG is wonderful. He's got a good personality and he's really relaxed and not all business. I like him. We're waiting on closing and we can't do it until the end of March because my husband doesn't turn 62 until March 29th.
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Patricia of Franconia, VA Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Feb. 19, 2023
The customer support so far has been really great.
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Jean of Parowan, UT Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Feb. 19, 2023
Working with the agent was very good and I was impressed with the agent. He was very accommodating and he spoke very clearly. We're elderly and we need a lot of patience from people. He made sure we understood what he was telling us. AAG has been wonderful. They moved things along and it was amazing that the process has gone as smoothly as it has. We accomplished what we wanted and they met our goals. I'm very impressed with the company.
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Norman of Tuscaloosa, AL Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Feb. 19, 2023
I'm doing the paperwork right now and it's really stressful. They shouldn't have that much paperwork. But I was impressed with the answer that they gave me and they explained everything to me. So far, everything has been all right. But they could change the part where you need to pay out something before you get the loan
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FAQs
Is American Advisors Group legitimate? ›
Is AAG legit? Yes, American Advisors Group provides several legitimate financial solutions that can make retirement easier, including a variety of reverse mortgages to help qualifying borrowers tap into the equity in their homes.
Is AAG any good? ›Yes, AAG is a reputable company, with excellent ratings from customers on Trustpilot. To add to its credibility, the company is also a member of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA).
What is the AAG controversy? ›According to ctwatchdog, The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accused AAG of misleading people with its advertising. The Bureau's acting director, David Uejio, stated, "American Advisors Group violated consumers' trust by advertising reverse mortgages with inflated and deceptive home-value estimates.
What is the downside of getting a reverse mortgage? ›But a reverse mortgage comes with several downsides, such as upfront and ongoing costs, a variable interest rate, an ever-rising loan balance and a reduction in home equity.
Is there a lawsuit against AAG? ›The stipulated final judgment and order requires AAG to pay $173,400 in consumer redress, stop its unlawful conduct, and pay a $1,100,000 civil money penalty.
Is American Advisors Group still in business? ›Today, AAG is the No. 1 reverse mortgage lender in the United States. Main offices are in California, Georgia, and New York.
Does AAG sell their mortgages? ›AAG just joins all the other top reverse mortgage companies that have now sold off their servicing portfolio.
Does AARP recommend reverse mortgages? ›Does AARP recommend reverse mortgages? AARP does not recommend for or against reverse mortgages. They do however recommend that borrowers take the time to become educated so that borrowers are doing what is right for their circumstances.
Does Suze Orman recommend reverse mortgage? ›Don't take out a reverse mortgage in your 60s
In her view, it's best to treat a reverse mortgage as a last resort for emergency money, and to wait as long as you possibly can before going that route.
A reverse mortgage application process generally takes about 30-45 days from start to finish and has five major steps. However, the longest part of the reverse mortgage loan process is the decision-making process that leads up to the application.
Does AAG do reverse mortgages? ›
Apply for a Reverse Mortgage Loan
To apply, reach out to an approved lender like AAG American Advisors Group. The reverse mortgage professionals at American Advisors group can help seniors and their families decide whether or not a reverse mortgage loan is the best option.
At the start of 2022, now-bankrupt reverse mortgage lender Reverse Mortgage Funding (RMF) acquired AAG's mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) portfolio in a deal that included more than 75,000 loans totaling $12.1 billion in unpaid principal balance (UPB).
Why does Dave Ramsey not like reverse mortgages? ›Dave Ramsey has branded reverse mortgages a “scam.” He contends that because the costs of these loans are so high, they risk destroying your savings and leaving you with debt rather than a savings account. Just because some types of debt are not good does not mean that no types of debt are good.
What is the best age to get a reverse mortgage? ›When is the best time to get a reverse mortgage loan? If you are at least 62 or over (the age requirement of the loan), the best time might be now.
Why are people disappointed with reverse mortgages? ›The downside of a reverse mortgage can be that the closing costs can be higher than a traditional loan, the property must be your primary residence, the loan is not assumable and there may be less equity to leave to your heir as an inheritance.
What is the rating for AAG reverse mortgage company? ›AAG has a 4.5 out of 5 rating from 4,673 reviews on Trustpilot, with 68% rating the company “excellent” and another 16% calling it “great.” Positive reviews mention personable and professional service, a transparent application process and the relief of not having to make a mortgage payment.
Is Tom Selleck associated with AAG? ›Below are commercials featuring Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actor Tom Selleck. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device. COVID-19 • Get the latest information from the CDC about COVID-19.
What are the interest rates on reverse mortgages right now? ›What is the current interest rate for a reverse mortgage? Presently the lowest fixed interest rate on a fixed reverse mortgage is 6.680% (8.094% APR), and variable rates are as low as 6.810% with a 1.750 margin.
Who owns AAG reverse mortgage? ›At the start of 2022, now-bankrupt reverse mortgage lender Reverse Mortgage Funding (RMF) acquired AAG's mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) portfolio in a deal that included more than 75,000 loans totaling $12.1 billion in unpaid principal balance (UPB).